The Great Culling! Or, how to thin and process your beets

Beets are deceiving. When you plant those easy to handle seeds and place them the proper 2 inches apart, you never really think they will sprout up, crowd out each-other, and attempt complete soil domination. Thus, like every iron clad ruler of complete domination, you must cull the masses!!!

The nice thing about beets is the fact that everything on it is edible, from the root to the tops, the beet offers some great simple sugars in the root and some much needed iron in the leaves, not to mention you can fill your leafy green quota quite easily.

Thinning the beets is a crucial step in getting those large globules of beety joy which we all love to eat in the late summer/early fall.

Once thinned you will have a plethora of beet tops and small rootlets to get through - so, what to do with them? Freeze them, baby!

The above photo is a what I pulled from my 4 rows of beets, creating two inches between each plant. Also, if there are plants seemingly growing from the same location, pull the smaller of the two (For only perfection shall be tolerated!).

 

The next step was to wash the beets and separate the roots from the stems. When beets are this young (roughly 6 weeks) not all of them will have an identifiable root. This is just fine, cut the wisp and keep the greens.

Next comes the giant pot. I filled this canning pot to the first line and let it come to a simmer, also added about 2 tbs. of salt to the water. While it was reaching a boil I cut my greens into pieces - I prefer larger chunks but whatever you feel like stuffing in your pie hole is the correct length.

I let the greens wilt for about 2 minutes and then removed them with a wire spoon, you can use a slotted spoon, or really any sort of scooper that lets the water drain.

Here are all my beet greens, wilted and cooling. Its a good idea to have something absorbent beneath them so you don't create a beet green ice cube in the freezer. Let the greens cool to room temperature then proceed to put your greens in a zip-lock or freezer container. Don't forget to label it with the month and date, discard if you have not eaten it within 6 months.

Now you know what to do with your beet thinnings.

Enjoy!
-Nicey